Courtesy
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 Polite behavior. uncountable
"Please extend them the courtesy of your presence."
- 2 a courteous or respectful or considerate act wordnet
- 3 A polite gesture or remark, especially as opposed to an obligation or standard practice. countable
"I offered them a ride simply as a courtesy."
- 4 a courteous manner wordnet
- 5 Consent or agreement in spite of fact; indulgence. uncountable
"They call this pond a lake by courtesy only."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 a courteous or respectful or considerate remark wordnet
- 7 Willingness or generosity in providing something needed. uncountable
"They received free advertising through the courtesy of the local newspaper."
- 8 A curtsey. countable, dated, uncountable
"The lady drops a courtesy in token of obedience, and the ceremony proceeds as usual."
- 9 The life interest that the surviving husband has in the real or heritable estate of his wife. countable, uncountable
- 1 Alternative form of curtsey. alt-of, alternative
- 1 Given or done as a polite gesture. not-comparable
"We paid a courtesy visit to the new neighbors."
- 2 Supplied free of charge. not-comparable
"The event planners offered courtesy tickets for the reporters."
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"The President did me the courtesy of replying to my letter."
Etymology
From Middle English curteisie, curtesie, from Anglo-Norman curtesie, from Old French curteisie, cortoisie. Equivalent to courteous + -y (abstract noun suffix).
Related phrases
More for "courtesy"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.